"If God is sovereign, then his lordship must extend over all of life, and it cannot be restricted to the walls of the church or within the Christian orbit."
Abraham Kuyper Common Grace 1.1.

Tuesday, 25 February 2014

British Calvinists: George Wishart (1513-1546)

The Scot George Wishart (1513-1546) was only 33 when he was martyred. He translated into English the Helvetian Confession, which was published in 1548.

He studied at the University of Louvain, France and became a priest. He returned to Scotland in 1538, but had to flee to Bristol when the bishop of Brechin discovered Wishart was teaching others to read the Bible. He then returned to the Continent where he joined up with other Calvinists. In 1542 he taught at Cambridge University before returning to Scotland in 1544.

The plague broke out in Dundee in 1545, so Wishart went there to care for the sick and to preach. he survived several attacks on his life for this work from the Cardinal David Beaton. John Knox became his bodyguard. Wishart was imprisoned at St Andrews. He was tried and found guilty of treason because he believed the Bible.